


...and they say Christmas is the most romantic holiday.

by mugs



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Halloween, Hugs, I Married A Witch, Kira-has-long-hair AU, Nightmares, Party, Romance, Veronica Lake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-24 00:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2562128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mugs/pseuds/mugs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Against the background of DS9's first ever Halloween Party, Kira has one of her famous 'moments of pure clarity'</p>
            </blockquote>





	...and they say Christmas is the most romantic holiday.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've ever written, and I don't know if I'm any good at this :D

Odo’s trademark harrumph could not be heard over the sounds spilling onto the Promenade from Quark’s, and it didn’t have to – nobody needed audible perception to guess the changeling’s reaction to the current goings-on. Much to Odo's chagrin, Quark had come across an old Earth tradition, and was now, enterprising as he was, trying to get some profit out of it. All Hallows' Eve. Halloween. Serious though the tradition might have started out centuries upon centuries ago, it sounded silly to the Chief of Security. And not just the name, or the disturbing music – everything about it made Odo wish it was Christmas time already. Not that he was fond of that holiday either – but at least dressing up wasn’t required at Christmas parties.

The very idea of ‘wearing’ a costume irked him. Mostly because it was what he did every day. But he’d live through it. Maybe Quark would do him a favour and do something worth throwing the Ferengi into a holding cell for a bit.

Odo was torn from his reverie by a remarkably unpleasant combination of sounds that interrupted the music. A reverberating, metallic bell, and something that, he figured, must have been some sort of animal – maybe a bird? 

Whatever it was, he now remembered where he’d been headed when he stopped near Quark’s, and continued on his way. As he approached the turbolift, he saw Jadzia Dax coming towards him, wearing a tight-fitting black jumpsuit. When she waved at him, he saw that there was more black fabric connected to the sleeves and waist, that unfolded into dark grey wings. On her head, she wore big black ears. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Odo? The party’s that way!” 

“Don’t I know it”, answered the changeling, “I wasn’t going to let Quark throw a party like this without keeping both my eyes on him. I just wanted to drop these padds off at Major Kira’s…”

“Perfect – just make sure you bring her back with you. She said she’d meet me here, but I bet she’ll try to wiggle herself out of this one. I’m afraid she dislikes dressing up for a real party just as much as wearing costumes in the holosuites. Make sure she doesn’t miss this – and tell her she PROMISED to wear the dress I got her.”

*

All it took for Kira’s mood to be ruined for the day, was an awful morning. 

She hadn’t slept well at all – she’d been tossing and turning all night, trying to escape a nightmare that she’d woken up from too early to get up yet, but too late to go back to sleep again.

When she hadfinally gotten up, the memory of her dream already blurred, she’d gotten angry at herself – at the cold sweat, and the tears she had cried unconsciously that weren’t quite dry yet. She didn’t like the way she looked after a night like that. It made her feel weak.

And it had made her snap at people in Ops all morning, until she had decided to take the rest of the day off and take a nap.

After waking up from her nap, and putting on a big, fluffy robe over the comfortable tunic and pants she had changed into, she got herself a raktajino from the replicator, and put it down on the table after taking a few sips. As she reached for it again, now a padd in her other hand, she knocked the cup off the table. 

She cursed the damn thing – the whole day, actually, and began picking up the pieces. Annoyed as she was, she cut herself on several of the shards, but didn’t care much. She’d take care of her hands later.

_ ‘No more raktajino, then’_ , she decided, and ordered a ginger tea instead. 

Now here she was, sitting on her couch, clutching a cup of ginger tea, and staring blankly at her naked feet.

Bad dreams, although they faded to incoherent fragments immediately after waking up, had a tendency of making her feel empty, her insides twisted into a tight knot. A feeling she didn’t know how to resolve, which added to her annoyance.

She didn’t remember how long she’d been sitting on the couch like that when a visitor announced himself. There wasn’t a chance in hell she’d answer the door right now.

“Major, are you there? I brought the reports you said you wanted.”

The voice was dulled by the wall that separated them, but she’d have recognised it anywhere. Without thinking, she called for her friend to enter, suddenly unconcerned by the way she looked.

“Unconcerned” was not how Odo would have described himself when the door to Kira’s quarters slid open and he was met by nearly complete darkness. It seemed odd, but he didn’t think it was his place to call for lights. 

Until his gaze fell on the couch, and the Major, illuminated only by the faint starlight falling on her through the viewport.

She looked tiny, in her big fluffy robe, and her hair was a mess – parts still tied in a bun that had slipped to the side of her head, parts falling loosely, framing her face, with fly-aways reflecting the starlight, giving her a reddish halo.

When he, after his previous reluctance to do so, called for the lights, Odo saw the deep circles under Kira’s eyes, and the well-known annoyed expression on her face.

It never ceased to amaze him how beautiful she was, regardless of her mood or the state of her hair. When his gaze fell to her hands, he flinched. She had smeared blood all over the mug while holding it between her palms – without noticing it. Or caring about it.

Seconds passed in silence, until Kira suddenly shook her head, as if to wake herself up, and finally looked up at her visitor.

“I’m sorry, Constable…”“No, I apologise, I shouldn’t have disturbed you.”

“I’d hardly call it ‘disturbing me’ when I wasn’t doing anything. And we should stop apologising, or we’ll still be here tomorrow”

A small smile crinkled her eyes, and for a moment, Odo thought her anger had dissipated.

“But you looked like you were a thousand light years away.” “Sometimes, I wish I were”, she whispered in response, barely audible. It didn’t go unnoticed by the changeling though, who figured that it might be wise to ignore her comment. 

“What happened to your hands, Major?” he asked instead.

“That’s none of your...”, she almost barked at him, and then, remembering who she was talking to, and how stupid it was to be rude to him, she continued, “I broke a cup, and cut myself while cleaning up the mess I made. I completely forgot about it. Guess I really was light years away for a while there”.

After a moment’s silence, she added: “I’m sorry, again. This really isn’t my day, and…”

Without thinking, Odo interrupted her apology. “It’s quite alright. Why don’t you tell me about what happened? Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

His own proposition shocked him. There was nothing worse than being surprised by one's own words. _'Maybe I should get outta here for a moment'_ , he mused.

“Is there a dermal regenerator in your bathroom?”

“Sure, it's right...”

Before Kira could finish her affirmative answer, he was already rushing into the next room to get the device.

* There was nothing wrong with what he had said, nothing odd about it, and yet it made Odo unbelievably uncomfortable. Of course, Kira was important to him, and he’d willingly spend the rest of his days listening to her every complaint, but he always found it hard to determine the correct reaction, to find the right words.

Ever since he had become aware of his – admittedly humanoid – feelings for her, he had also become acutely aware of her presence. He probably had been all along.

Being with her made him feel as though he was a lake, and every touch from her, every rush of air she created, hit his surface like a drop of rain, and sent ripples all over it. He concealed it as best he could. Apparently very successfully, since she never seemed to notice his reaction to her. 

Odo was grateful for it, and pitied those less fortunate than him who had to struggle with physical responses as well as emotional ones. If he didn’t do or say anything stupid, she would never know. And he would never have to face rejection.

_ ‘Oh well, you got yourself into this, now try and at least be useful to her'_ , he advised himself, and grabbed the regenerator.

*

Kira still sat on the couch when he came back, but she had moved to one corner, leaning against the armrest, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

When she saw him, she looked up and smiled. “Sit down, Constable”, she pointed to the seat next to her feet.

Then she laid her hands onto her knees with the palms up, grimacing at the pain. “It hurts more now that I’m thinking about it.”

Sitting down a little awkwardly, Odo began running the regenerator over the cuts. He made sure there were no fragments left inside the wounds, and where there were some, he picked them out carefully. 

“Ouch!”

“You know, you really should be more careful, Major.”

“I’ve had worse.”

Odo looked at her questioningly for a moment, and then returned his attention to the palms of her hands.

Answering his silent question, Kira told him all about that day, and the cause of her bad mood. And that she hated seeing herself so sad – so weak. Haunted by a past she thought she’d left behind.

Her hands had long been restored to health, and Odo had sat back a little less awkwardly, listening in silence, nodding gravely. When he heard her call herself ‘weak’, something shifted in him, and he – once again without thinking – grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him in a tight hug. 

Kira, who had not moved from her position, fell forward and lost balance for a moment, and finally landed on his thighs knees first. For a second, Odo thought she was going to pull away, and prepared himself for her anger at his impulsive action. But then she settled into the hug, with her head on his chest.

Kira’s analyses of different kinds of hugs could have filled volumes. There were the dishonest ones; someone leaning in just close enough to make you feel violated in your own space. And ones of joy, accompanied by ugly sobs and tears of laughter. And this one. It was one of those hugs that make you feel like you can finally let go for a moment – let your guard down, and let someone else take care of you, shield you from the world. 

They stayed like this for a while without saying a word. She almost didn’t notice Odo’s hand stroking her head until it reached the hair tie that still held the remains of what had once been a loose bun. Once he’d removed it carefully, he started running his fingers through her hair, all the way down to where it ended just below her shoulder blades. His head rested on top of hers, and the movements of his jaw tickled her scalp as he spoke, in a voice even more gravelly than usual.

“I'm sorry. I guess I should have known.”

She shook her head, and then smiled against his uniform. Most people wouldn't have known, but he did. His uniform was, ultimately, part of him. 

_ 'Just **don't** think about it. This is already awkward enough'_ , he chided himself.

“I didn't really give you a chance to, did I?” her voice interrupted his contemplation.

He grumbled something in response, and they stayed in silence again for a while.

“I'd never have thought it possible for someone so...”, he stopped, suddenly hyper-aware of what he was about to say. _'So much for awkwardness.'_

“Someone so what, Odo?” Kira whispered. _'Stubborn? Short-tempered? To be such a crybaby?'_ Those were only a few of the options that crossed her mind. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear what he had to say.

“...so beautiful. To be so uncomfortable with their own reflection.” 

_ 'I guess this is the point where humanoids wish they could just melt to the ground and disappear'_ , Odo thought. 

His train of thought was interrupted once again, this time by a combination of sensations. Droplets of salt water coming into contact with his simulated uniform, and a faint shiver of Kira's body.

_ 'I also guess it takes **your** special talent to make this situation even worse'_ , he cursed himself, and then went back to stroking her hair. “I... I didn't mean to hurt you, Major. Or anger you. I'll go – I'll leave now, if you want me to”, he said, knowing full-well that his body language didn't exactly support that last statement.

“ **No...** I mean, you didn't. I just...”, another small sob shook her, and she took a deep breath, hoping – in vain – that it would help her stop crying. “Nerys”, was the only word she managed before she choked on the next sob and started to cough.

“Please don't call me 'Major' – it's Nerys. Just Nerys.” Her request, confident as it had started out, ended up muffled as she pressed her face more closely to Odo's chest.

He would have given anything for her to stop crying, and nodded. “I will, but please tell me what's wrong – what did I do?”

She didn't answer immediately, but smiled. When he felt her lips curve upward again, Odo sighed audibly.

Only when the tears had stopped, she spoke again: “I just realised something, that's all.”

She started to relax, and extracted her legs from under herself, until she sat sideways on Odo's lap, her legs stretched out on the couch next to him. “My feet fell asleep”, she informed him in a low voice, as she settled her head on his chest once again. 

One of Odo's hands began stroking her hair again, while the other arm was wrapped around her, with his hand resting – much to his shock when he noticed it – on her waist.

“So... what was it that you realised just now?” he finally asked, a little reluctantly.

“I'll tell you later.”

“But...”, he began, then changed his mind, “alright, Nerys.

He didn't hear her giggle, but he felt the flow of air it created.

After another short silence, Kira suddenly lifted her head. “Oh no.”

Odo tensed – had she, all of a sudden – become as aware of their unusually intimate position as him, and what it might have been mistaken as? 

_ 'Mistaken as? I don't care what it could be **mistaken** as – I don't even know what it **is** ”_ , he pondered.

“What is it?” he inquired, his voice sounding as if he was awaiting a death sentence.

“I **also** forgot something... I promised to meet Dax at Quark's for this... what was it called?” came the prompt reply.

Relieved, Odo sighed again. “Oh. The Halloween party. Me too. I mean, she told me to make sure you wore a very specific dress she picked out for you.”

Kira's sudden burst of laughter made Odo jump so much he almost knocked her off his lap.

“Have you actually seen the thing?” She wiped another set of tears – of laughter, this time – from her eyes. “I look absolutely ridiculous in it. And she really seems to have a thing for silly hats – remember the one I had to wear for that Camelot-program at the holosuite?”

For the first time since Odo had hugged her, Kira looked at the changeling's face, and saw him smile.

_ 'That smile alone could melt glaciers'_ , she caught herself thinking, and then punched his arm lightly.

“Don't you dare smile like that. I'll show you my 'costume' – and **then** I'll find one for **you** , Constable”, she laughed as she got up.

His smile faded for a second when she untied her robe and handed it to him.

“Now, don't look so shocked, just hold onto this for a minute. I'll be right back”, she teased, and disappeared in the next room.

Odo shook his head. He revelled in the thought of holding Kira in his arms, still smiling. Her reaction to what he had said still puzzled him, and he wondered why her behaviour had taken such abrupt changes throughout their conversation. He startled when she walked back into his field of vision, holding the front of her dress against her chest, a black hat tucked under her arm.

“Zip me up?”

He only stared for a fraction of a second, then stood up and closed the zipper on the costume, and quickly returned to his previous position to take in the sight of her.

Keeping her expression as neutral as possible, she placed the hat on her head. There were golden applications on it; a stylised crescent moon and a star.

Kira stared Odo dead in the eye for a few seconds, as if to provoke a reaction. Then she laughed again. “Wait until you see what **you** are going to wear.”

“I'm sure I will be no match for you, N-Nerys.” He almost choked on her name. It would take some getting used to. “Not that I'm trying to change the subject, but I see nothing wrong with that dress. You look...”, he hesitated for a moment, “Beautiful. You look beautiful.”

She twirled, and when she faced him again, replied: “Thank you, Odo, but I still feel silly.”

The dress had a tight-fitting bodice with a floral lace pattern. Instead of straps, the very top looked like a transparent button-down shirt with a rounded collar and long puffy sleeves.

The skirt was very wide and consisted of many layers of semi-transparent black fabric – it siwshed with every step.

“Dax told me she did a bit of research on 20th century fashion, and she found an actress from the 1940s who played a witch in one of those 'movies'. Anyway, that's where she found the pattern for the hat, and this actress also wore a dress like this once”, Kira informed Odo, who had sat down on the couch again.

“Look”, she held out a padd to him that had pictures of the actress in question. 

“The hair looks different”, Odo pointed out.

“I'll take care of that later. Now, **this** is what I had in mind for you.” She opened another file on the padd and showed it to him. 

He took the padd from her hands, studied it for a while, and decided not to resist her. “I was expecting something much, much worse”, he commented, handing the device back to her.

“Well then, why don't you change in here, and I'll go fix my hair. Just come on in when you're done.”

“I didn't think you'd be so enthusiastic about this party”, Odo joked.

“It's not everyday that **I** get to choose silly costumes for other people, you know.” Then she got up and left.

He changed quickly, and entered her bedroom, where she had taken off the hat again and was now brushing her long auburn hair in front of a mirror.

“Let me?” he suggested, and she turned around and looked him over. 

“Nice work, Constable”, she finally complimented him, handing over the brush. _'I must be out of my mind'_ , he thought, and then continued aloud, “I'll just use my hands.”

His hands shimmered golden as he ran them through her hair, parting it very far on the left like he had seen on the picture. It was still a little wavy from having been tied in a bun all day.

“Perfect, thank you!” Kira took her stand-in hairdresser's hand when he'd finished his work, and squeezed it. She smiled at their reflection in the mirror, then rose swiftly, and patted her dress. Then she put on a bit of red lipstick, turned to Odo once again, and laughed: “Might as well rise to the occasion, right?”

Her offered her his arm, and deadpanned: “I’m sure Quark will appreciate your effort.”  


* As they strolled into Quark's, they were greeted by Jadzia Dax, who waved at them, and shouted over the music: “What took you so long?”

“I- uh...”, Kira started, but having taken another glance at the Chief of Security, Dax interrupted her stammered reply: “Oh I see, you had to convince Odo to wear a costume. Now I'm surprised you're already here”, and then turned to Kira's escort, “Dracula? Who would have thought. It suits you, though.” She touched the points on the stand-up collar of the black cape appreciatively.

“I didn't have much of a say in this, Lieutenant”, Odo rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation, “Exactly who was this 'Dracula'? I think I've heard about him – wasn't he supposed to have been a... what's the word... a vampire?”

“Yes, that's it. According to popular belief, vampires bite people's necks and suck their blood. For example, Dracula would choose a beautiful young lady”, Dax grabbed Kira's arm, “lure her into his castle”, Dax gave the Bajoran a small push that caught her off guard and sent her stumbling backwards against Odo, who grabbed her upper arms to keep her from falling, “You're a natural, Odo. And then he'd just... bite her neck”, for her finale, nudged Odo's head in the direction of Kira's neck.

Odo, of no mind to actually bite her, tried to resist the impulse Dax's push had given his head, but failed, and his lips briefly touched the soft skin of Kira's neck, before he pulled away and glared at Dax. The Trill was visibly amused, by her demonstration as well as the awkwardness it had elicited.

Kira shot a glance at Odo, hoping he wouldn't notice the redness of her face or the goosebumps, and found him looking back at her, smiling apologetically.

When Dax recovered from her laughter, she grabbed each of her victims by the hand and pulled them toward the bar, where they sat down and talked for a while, and watched as others danced.

Time passed, and the embarrassment subsided, until Dax got it into her head that Odo simply **had** to dance with her, and grabbed his hand once again.

As he was pulled from his seat, Kira gave him a compassionate smile, and leaned back against the bar to watch her friends struggle with the strange music. It didn't take long for her amusement to be replaced by pity, and she made her way toward the odd couple.

“Pardon the interruption”, she said as she placed a hand on Dax's shoulder to stop her from whirling Odo around any longer, and then asked: “May I have the next dance, Odo?”

“He's a lost cause, but as far as I know, so are you – maybe you two will work it out”, Dax jested, and left them to their fate.

“I know this will sound terribly cliché – but do you wanna get outta here?” Odo looked at her with pleading eyes.

She nodded, and took his arm. “Absolutely.”

*

In front of Kira’s quarters, Odo had already made up his mind to bid her good night and finally return to his own quarters where he’d recover from the day’s events, when he became aware of her voice. “Care to join me for a drink before we call it a night?” 

“I don’t know… I mean”, he stuttered, and eventually abandoned his plan. “Sure, why not.”

They strode in, and Kira first of all kicked off her shoes, and rid herself of the hat she’d been carrying around all evening. She then retrieved her robe from the couch, where Odo had left it folded into a perfect square. She smiled, then turned back to her guest: “Could you unzip this thing for me? I’d like to change into something a little less Halloween-ish. Make yourself at home, I’ll be back in a minute.”

As soon as she had disappeared in her bedroom, he let the costume fade into his usual uniform, and got a glass and a bottle of springwine for her.

Kira found him sitting on the couch once again, his hands folded in his lap, the glass and bottle standing on the small table.

“Be careful or I’ll ask you to stay forever”, he heard her say, and looked up at her face in mild shock, only to find her smiling radiantly. He relaxed.

Although she wasn’t wearing the impractical shoes that went with her costume anymore, her walk still seemed odd to Odo. “Is there something wrong with your feet?” he inquired when she had taken her seat next to him.

“There’s nothing wrong with my **feet** – it’s those damned shoes Jadzia made me wear.”

He poured her a glass of springwine. “Let me see, will you?”

“Thank you”, she grabbed the drink, settled against the armrest, and lifted her feet onto his lap.

The shoes had worked their way through her skin in several places, and Odo wondered how she had been able to walk on them all this time.

Without commenting, he took the dermal regenerator that still lay where he had left it that afternoon, and began to fix the damage, topping off his ministrations with a massage. 

_ ‘I haven’t felt this relaxed in **ages** ’_ , Kira thought as she laid her head back on the armrest and sighed audibly. 

Odo looked up from her feet and was once again amazed by her beauty. He didn’t know anyone else who could make a bathrobe look as appealing as Kira Nerys.

Her voice interrupted his musings as it had many times before. “Odo, please, stay forever.”

_ ‘Now I’ve either lost it completely or there’s something wrong with her, too.’_

He turned his head very slowly, until he could see her face. He searched it for a hint of humour, but found nothing.

“Remember how I said that I had realised something earlier today?” He nodded, always keeping his eyes on hers. 

“Well, I realised how foolish I’ve been.” “You, Nerys, are many things, but I’ve never considered you a fool”, he told her in a low voice. He was now staring at her slender feet.

“Oh, but I am. You are in love with me, aren’t you?”

“Nerys – I… I am.” Odo’s reply was hardly audible.

“And I hope you’ll be able to forgive me…” 

He looked up again, but this time she had averted her eyes. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and then met his glance.

“…for taking so damned long to realise just how much **I** love **you** . And now let go of my feet for a spell. Please.”

Odo stared at her face, than at her feet that still lay on his thighs, than back to her face. He was still at a loss for words when he let go off her ankles.

“Nerys, I… I don’t know what to sa…”, was all he could manage before she pressed her mouth to his half-open one, climbed onto his lap, and wrapped both her arms and legs around him, all in the blink of an eye.

“Then by all means shut up”, she whispered against his lips, putting special emphasis on each word by alternating them with small kisses.

*

 


End file.
